Stoffer Ends Four-Year NHRA
Winless Drought
W
hen Big St. Charles Su-
zuki's Karen Stoffer made
her NHRA debut in the Pro Stock
Motorcycle class in 1996, she
had no idea she'd still be riding
more than two decades later, but
after her most recent win at the
AAA Insurance Midwest Naitonals
in St. Louis, September 27-29,
she shows no signs of slowing
down. Stoffer defeated Screamin'
Eagle Harley-Davidson's Andrew
Hines in the final round to get her
first victory since 2015. Stoffer's
win was also the third-straight vic-
tory for the White Alligator team,
which also includes her team-
mate Jerry Savoie. Stoffer rode to
a 6.86 in the final round, holding
off the 6.87 of Hines, who was
denied his eighth victory of the
season.
"I wasn't even going to race
this year," Stoffer said. "I was
planning to sit out and the next
thing you know I get a call from
the WAR team, and we started a
dialogue, and I ended up on this
fantastic bike, and then here we
are," Stoffer said. "And, we are at
one of the best races where we
could perform. St. Louis is the
home of our main sponsor, Big
St. Charles, and it's huge to be
able to put everything together at
the right time. This is pretty cool."
Stoffer, who last won at the
Norwalk round in 2015, began
her march to the final with wins
over Ryan Oehler and then num-
ber-one qualifier Matt Smith in
succession. Stoffer ran a 6.916,
while Smith, the defending world
champion, turned on the red light
by 0.002 of a second alongside
IN
THE
WIND
P32
Karen Stoffer
celebrates in St.
Louis, her first
NHRA Pro Stock
Motorcycle win in
four years.
